Summer is almost gone, evenings are getting colder, but we can save the best of it in our cards. I chose poppies, as I love their colour, soft petals and fragile beauty. Take a look and lease leave a comment which one you liked best:

Saturday, 22 June 2013

Polish folk art is absolutely amazing - takes
so much time, skills, patience! Just take a look at this masterpiece-
paper cut outs. Gorgeous!

wycinanki

I have been interested in ART for my whole like - my family plays instruments, go to the opera, theatre, and to galleries on regular basis. Instead of the radio, I was exposed to classical music from early years, went to gymnastics class, took additional drawing classes etc. Art and music were everywhere and had great impact on my life.

I had little opportunity to get to know about Polish folk Art, though. Till 2010, when I started to work for a company situated in "The Green Lungs" of Poland - north-east part, where there are mainly landscape parks and nature reserves. It made it possible to preserve traditional way of living along with folk culture. These rural parts are pure, natural, many things are handmade, tradition is very important so ocassions are celebrated in old ways. You can feel as if you went back in time!

Internet and games are not main entertainment there, but you can sit and ...make paper cut outs (wycinanki) like the one above. All you need is a pair of big scissors, colourful paper, imagination and lots of patience. Then, these masterpieses are used to decorate (glued to cards, framed to become pictures, or hand on a christmas tree).

The people who make cut outs teach their children so that the tradition stays alive through generations. BUT you can also learn how to do it! I help organising individual trips to Poland, including workshops od different kind- cut outs are there as well. By the way, while being there you can also learn how to bake bread, make herbal tincture or knit.

Want to give it a try? If you do, please send me photos of your works: nikagifts@gmail.com so that we can share ideas ans tips. Need more info? Please contact me for more details.

I am planning to write more about Polish Folk
Art on my blog, so stay tuned:) have an inspiring weekend,Nika

I liked it a lot. As soon as I watched it I wanted to get to work, to try new techniques, to do something. It comes when I see an artist or a person passionately doing their hobby. Do you have the same thing?

About the technique now- have you tried anything like it? I am tempted to give it a try.
What do you think?

Friday, 14 June 2013

Today, when not everything is how we planned, I came across some quotes to fill me with positive energy and thinking. Below you will find them. Some of them I knew before, they encouraged me to think positively and be strong when I thought I would give up.

Never, never, never give up. There is always hope, choice, change.

Hope they will brighten up your day:)

Top 15 Power of Positive Thinking Quotes

…And how a change in thoughts can lead to a change in life.

#15

“The day is what you make it! So why not make it a great one?” ~ Steve Schulte#14

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson#13

“There is nothing good or bad, only thinking makes it so.” ~ Hamlet#12

“I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.” ~ Og Mandino#11

“You cannot tailor-make the situations in life but you can tailor-make the attitudes to fit those situations.” ~ Zig Ziglar#10

“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” ~ Sun Tzu #9

“We can’t escape pain; we can’t escape the essential nature of our lives. But we do have a choice. We can give in and relent, or we can fight, persevere, and crete a life worth living, a noble life. Pain is a fact; our evaluation of it is a choice.” ~ Jacob Held #8

“Each problem has hidden in it an opportunity so powerful that it literally dwarfs the problem. The greatest success stories were created by people who recognized a problem and turned it into an opportunity.” ~ Joseph Sugarman #7

“The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude.” ~ Oprah Winfrey#6

“Optimism is the most important human trait, because it allows us to evolve our ideas, to improve our situation, and to hope for a better tomorrow.” ~ Seth Godin #5

“Nothing truly stops you. Nothing truly holds you back. For your own will is always within your control. Sickness may challenge your body. But are you merely your body? Lameness may impede your legs. But you are not merely your legs. Your will is bigger than your legs. Your will needn’t be affected by an incident unless you let it.” ~ Epictetus #4

“Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy. Human beings have the awesome ability to take any experience of their lives and create a meaning that disempowers them or one that can literally save their lives.” ~ Anthony Robbins #3

“Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.” ~ Groucho Marx #2

“Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi #1

“Welcome every morning with a smile. Look on the new day as another special gift from your Creator, another golden opportunity to complete what you were unable to finish yesterday. Be a self-starter. Let your first hour set the theme of success and positive action that is certain to echo through your entire day. Today will never happen again. Don’t waste it with a false start or no start at all. You were not born to fail.” ~ Og Mandino They come from:http://www.movemequotes.com/top-15-power-of-positive-thinking-quotes/